Catherine Vautrin (; born 26 July 1960) is a French politician who has been serving as

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

Health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

, Solidarity, and Families in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

François Bayrou François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since December 2024. He has presided over the European Democratic Party (EDP) since 2004 and the Democratic Movement (France ...

since 2024. Vautrin briefly served as Minister of Partnership with Territories and Decentralization in the

Barnier government The Barnier government () was the 45th government of France during the period of the French Fifth Republic. It was formed in September 2024 after President Emmanuel Macron appointed Michel Barnier as Prime Minister on 5 September, replacing Gabri ...

from September to December 2024 and as Minister of Labour, Health, and Solidarity in the

Attal government The Attal government ( French: ''gouvernement Attal'') was the forty-fourth government of the French Fifth Republic, formed on 9 January 2024 and headed by Gabriel Attal as Prime Minister under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron. It served as a car ...

from January to September 2024. Vautrin represented the 2nd constituency of

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from 2002 to 2004 and 2007 to 2017.

Early life and career

Vautrin was born in

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

. Her husband, whom she married in 2001, Jean-Loup Pennaforte is chief of

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

at the University Hospital of Reims. They have a daughter, Hortense, born in 2002. Vautrin holds a Master of Business Law. In 1986, she started her professional activity by becoming a product manager in the American insurance company

CIGNA The Cigna Group is an American multinational for-profit managed healthcare and insurance company based in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Its insurance subsidiaries are major providers of medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and r ...

after which she became director of marketing and communication in France and for Europe.

Political career

In 1983, at the request of Jean Falala, Vautrin became a municipal councilor in the city of Reims. At the time, she was the youngest of the team. In 1999, she left her job in the private sector to join the

Regional Council of Champagne-Ardenne The Regional Council of Champagne-Ardenne was the deliberative assembly of the former region of Champagne-Ardenne incorporated in the Grand Est region on 1 January 2016. It was headquartered in Châlons-en-Champagne, at 5 rue de Jéricho at Hôtel ...

, where she held the position of Deputy Director General in charge of directions and operational services.

Member of the National Assembly, 2002–2004

In the

2002 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2002. * 2002 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2002 Comorian presidential election * 2002 East Timorese presidential election * 2002 Fijian municipal election * 2002 Hong Kong Chief Executive election * ...

, Vautrin became a member of the National Assembly, representing the second district of the Marne and succeeding Jean-Claude Etienne. In parliament, she was a member of the Committee on Economic Affairs, as such she was: * Member of la commission sur l’avenir aéroportuaire français (the Commission on the future French airports) * First Vice-President of the mission for study of economic and social consequences of the legislation on working time * Secretary to the Committee on Economic Affairs and the Committee on the Budget of the Economy, Finance and Industry (post and telecommunications) * Secretary of the project on law concerning economic initiative

Career in government, 2004–2007

During the presidency of

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

, on 31 March 2004, Vautrin was appointed Secretary of State for Integration and Equal Opportunities under minister

Jean-Louis Borloo Jean-Louis Marie Borloo (; born 7 April 1951) is a French politician who served as president of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) from 2012 to 2014. He also was Minister of the Economy, Finance and Employment in 2007 and Minister of ...

in the government of

Jean-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005 under President Jacques Chirac. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Un ...

. On October 28, 2004, she became Secretary of State for Seniors. From June 2, 2005, Vautrin served as Minister Delegate for Social Cohesion and Parity in the government of

Dominique de Villepin Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac. In his career working at the Ministry ...

. In this capacity, she led efforts in 2005 on introducing French language tests for immigrants who apply for a 10-year residence permit. After a feud between the government and aid group

Médecins du Monde ''Médecins du monde'' (MdM; ), or Doctors of the World, is an international humanitarian organization which seeks to provide emergency and long-term medical care to the world's most vulnerable people. It also advocates for an end to health ine ...

that had been distributing tents to homeless people across Paris in August 2005, she pledged 7 million euros to help 1,000 homeless people get off the city’s streets by offering them long-term housing specially adapted to their needs. In April 2006, Vautrian was elected president of the Federation of the UMP. She was also appointed President Communication and Initiative Marne, club Jean-Pierre Raffarin of which she was a member of the National Office.

Member of the National Assembly, 2007–2017

In the

2007 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2007. * Electoral calendar 2007 * Elections in 2007 * 2007 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 52nd National Conference of the African National Congress * 2007 Algerian legislative elect ...

, Vautrin was re-elected with 56.93% of the vote. In the National Assembly, she was elected vice-president of the Commission of Economic Affairs. She was a board member of the UMP in the National Assembly, under the leadership of the group´s chair

Jean-François Copé Jean-François Copé (; born 5 May 1964) is a French politician serving as Mayor of Meaux since 1995 with an interruption from 2002 to 2005. He was Government Spokesman between 2002 and 2007, when assumed other tenures in the government—inclu ...

. On July 6, 2007, Vautrin officially announced her candidacy for mayor of Reims, in the context of French municipal elections of 2008. After the first round, March 9, 2008, Vautrin obtained 25.19% of the vote. She campaigned in the second round against the candidate of the Left Union Adeline Hazan, obtaining 43.93% of the vote despite the UMP nomination (given in the first round Renaud Dutreil) and was elected councilor opposition. On June 25, 2008 Vautrin was designated by the members of the UMP group to become, as of October 2008, vice-president of the National Assembly, replacing Marc-Philippe Daubresse whose peers did not reelect him. On January 28, 2010, Vautrin was named president of French Commission for the Examination of Unfair Commercial Practices, replacing Jean-Paul Charié who had deceased. Vautrin advanced to the 1st Vice-President of the Assembly when Marc Laffineur was appointed to government in June 2011. In 2012, after switching to the left of the National Assembly,

Laurence Dumont Laurence Dumont (born 2 June 1958) is a French politician of the Socialist Party who has been serving as Member of Parliament of the National Assembly from 1997 until 2002 and again between 2007 and 2022, representing the 2nd constituency of C ...

succeeded her as First Vice-President and she was appointed the fifth vice-president. At the UMP´s 2012 congress, Vautrin supported the motion

Gaullism, a way forward for France Gaullism, a way forward for France ( French: ''Le Gaullisme, une voie d'avenir pour la France'', ) was a recognised movement within the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). It was created in 2012 to represent Gaullists within the party; it was led ...

, led by

Michèle Alliot-Marie Michèle Yvette Marie-Thérèse Jeanne Honorine Alliot-Marie (; born 10 September 1946), known in France as MAM, is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from France. She is a member of the The Republicans (France), Rep ...

, Roger Karoutchi,

Henri Guaino Henri Guaino (; born 11 March 1957) is a French speechwriter and politician who served as the member of the National Assembly for the 3rd constituency of Yvelines from 2012 to 2017. A member of The Republicans (LR), he previously was a specia ...

and

Patrick Ollier Patrick Ollier (; born 17 December 1944) is a French politician. He is the Mayor of Rueil-Malmaison. He was a national assembly deputy for Hauts-Alpes's 2nd constituency from 1988 to 2002, as a member of the UMP. Secondly for Hauts-de-Seine ...

. In December 2012, following the resignation of Dominique Dord, she was appointed national treasurer of the UMP under the leadership of the party’s chair

. In 2015, Vautrin and

Monique Rabin Monique Rabin (born 2 July 1954) is a French politician. She was the National Assembly deputy for Loire-Atlantique's 9th constituency from 2012 to 2017, as a member of the socialists. Political career Before her election, she was a parliament ...

co-authored a report on th
financing of consular missions
Vautrin was one of the MPs who lost their seat in the 2017 French legislative election.

President of Grand Reims, 2014–2024

From 2014 to 2024, Vautrin has been serving as president of Grand Reims. Ahead of the Republicans’ 2016 primaries, Vautrin managed former president

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

’s campaign for the presidential nomination, alongside

Éric Ciotti Éric Ciotti ( or , ; born 28 September 1965) is a French politician who led The Republicans (LR) from 2022 to 2024. He has represented Alpes-Maritimes's 1st constituency in the National Assembly since the 2007 legislative election. Once a m ...

; Sarkozy eventually lost against

François Fillon François Charles Amand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a French retired politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of The Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

. Amid the

Fillon affair The Fillon affair (also the Penelope Fillon affair or Penelopegate) is a political-financial scandal involving immediate family members of French politician François Fillon being given paid jobs that involved no or very little actual work. The c ...

, she later called on Fillon to resign as the party's candidate. In the run-up to the 2022 presidential elections, Vautrin endorsed incumbent

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

for re-election. Following the 2022 legislative elections, Vautrin was considered by national news media a contender to succeed

Jean Castex Jean Castex (; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 3 July 2020 to 16 May 2022. He was a member of The Republicans (LR) until 2020. Castex served for twelve years as mayor of the small town of ...

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers. The prime ...

Career in government, 2024–present

On 11 January 2024, Vautrin was named

, Health and Solidarity in the

of Prime Minister

Gabriel Attal Gabriel Nissim Attal de Couriss (; born 16 March 1989) is a French politician who was the prime minister of France from January to September 2024. He was the youngest and the first openly Gay man, gay prime minister in French history. A member ...

. On 21 September of the same year, she was appointed Minister of Partnership with Territories and Decentralization in the

of Prime Minister

Michel Barnier Michel Jean Barnier (; born 9 January 1951) is a French politician who was Prime Minister of France from September to December 2024. A member of a series of Gaullist parties ( UDR, RPR, UMP, LR), Barnier has served in several French cabinet p ...

. During her time in office, France introduced a ban on smoking in areas where young people socialize including beaches, parks and sports facilities.

Controversy

As part of an inquiry into UMP fundraising efforts started in late 2014, Vautrin was formally placed under investigation in April 2015, on suspicion of illicit funding.Chine Labbe and Brian Love (1 April 2015)
France's Sarkozy questioned on suspect political funding
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

''.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vautrin, Catherine 1960 births Living people 21st-century French women politicians Deputies of the 12th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 13th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 14th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Ministers of health of France Ministers of labour and social affairs of France Gaullism, a way forward for France Government ministers of France Paris Descartes University alumni Politicians from Reims The Republicans (France) politicians Secretaries of state of France Union for a Popular Movement politicians Women government ministers of France Women members of the National Assembly (France) Members of the Attal government Members of the Barnier government